Brass Plaque For Hughes
Sydney: The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is set to place a brass plaque outside the home-team dressing room in honour of Phil Hughes tomorrow, a day before the start of the fourth and final cricket Test between India and Australia here. The brass plaque that will be installed by the SCG Trust on the brickwork at the top of the stairs that lead to the home team’s dressing room will feature a small bust of Hughes grinning face at the entrance of the Members’ Pavilion. It means the Australians will see his face each time they take and leave the field. The plaque above the players’ race will also include details of Hughes’ career at the SCG, where he made his first-class debut for New South Wales in 2007 and played his first Test on Australian soil, against Pakistan in 2010.
Hafeez fails informal test
Karachi: Pakistan cricket has got more bad news ahead of the World Cup after all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez failed to clear the informal bio-mechanics test he underwent at the bowling centre in Chennai last week. Although the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had yet to issue a statement on Hafeez’s test results but a reliable source in the board said that some of his deliveries were still found to be over the 15 degrees allowed by the International Cricket Council to straighten their arms. Over the wicket, Hafeez turned his arm at angles measuring from 16 to 18 degrees while round the wicket it ranged between 12 and 19 degrees, the source disclosed.
Yuki crashes out in Chennai
Chennai: Indian Davis Cupper Yuki Bhambri’s hopes of playing in the main round of the Aircel Chennai Open were dashed as he lost to local lad N Prasanth in the second round of the qualifiers, here on Sunday. Yuki squandered a set advantage to lose 6-1, 6-7(3) 3-6 in his second qualifying match of the 2015 season opening ATP tour event. Yuki stated off well and looked favourite to pocket the match in straight sets but Prasanth fought gallantly in the second and third sets to stun his fancied rival. It was a bad beginning to the season for Yuki, ranked 249 on the ATP circuit. It looked he was not able to bear the hot and humid conditions this afternoon against local boy Prasanth, ranked outside 500.
Services down Harayana
Chennai: Former champions Services survived anxious moments before getting the better of Haryana 3-2 in men’s league match, while Himachal Pradesh women also beat Odisha 3-2 in the 63rd National Volleyball (men and women) championship, here on Sunday. While almost all matches one sided affairs Services-Haryana tie evoked greater interest. It was a see-saw battle the rivals but Services forwards brought experience to their game to win the tie break fifth set to clinch the issue at 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 24-26, 17-15 in a marathon 120 minutes match.
Shrikrishna meets Chadha
Kolkata: S Shrikrishna of Tamil Nadu set up a summit clash with defending champion Ishpreet Chadha of Maharashtra in the sub-junior billiards of the National Championship at the Bengal Rowing Club here on Sunday. Chadha was trailing by nearly 40 points against Hritik Jain of Madhya Pradesh but set himself for a break of 96 points to recover and post a decent lead. Jain tried to overcome the pressure and brought down his trail to 30 points but the Maharashtra lad sealed the issue in one-hour duration by 79 points (296-217). Shrikrishna had a one-sided affair against Suraj Rathi of Maharashtra as he won 334-198 en route to the final.
West Ham Sign Doneil Henry
london: English football club West Ham United have signed Canadian defender Doneil Henry from Cypriot side Apollon limassol for an undisclosed fee. The 21-year-old centreback Sunday joined the Hammers on a long-term contract after spending two periods training with the club in recent months, reports Xinhua. Henry was recommended to West Ham manager Sam Allardyce by former Blackburn Rovers and New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen, his former coach at Toronto FC.
Russian Footballer Shot
Moscow: A 20-year-old footballer for Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala has been shot dead near his home in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus. Gasan Magomedov was driving into his home village Saturday night when his car was sprayed with machine-gun fire and he died from his wounds while being transported to hospital, Anzhi said in a statement. No arrests have been made so far and the motive is unclear, the club said. There were no reports of any other casualties.